Judge Refuses To Delay Trial For Would-Be Solar Eclipse Watcher

CBS Local — A federal judge in Florida has refused to delay a case because a member of the prosecution wanted to view the Aug. 21 solar eclipse. According to reports, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, planned to travel to another state to view the total solar eclipse.

Agent Chad Horst was reportedly scheduled to testify against an individual facing federal firearms charges. Judge Steven Merryday issued a three-page ruling on the prosecution’s request in which he heavily quoted the Carly Simon song, “You’re So Vain.”

“When an indispensable participant, knowing that a trial is imminent, pre-pays for some personal indulgence, that participant, in effect, lays a bet,” Judge Merryday wrote in his decision. “This time, unlike Carly Simon’s former suitor, whose ‘horse, naturally, won,’ this bettor’s horse has — naturally — lost. The motion is denied,” he added.

The judge also downplayed the event, saying the eclipse is no longer a “mysterious, supernatural, foreboding or ominous” astrological event. Merryday continued by stating that there were reportedly six other opportunities to view an eclipse in this decade.

The eclipse’s path of totality, where the sun is nearly completely covered by the moon, covered a 70-mile-wide lane that cut across 12 states from Oregon to South Carolina.